Five Finds on Friday: John Meiklejohn
by Charlottesville29
On Fridays, we feature five food finds from local chefs and personalities. Today’s picks come from John Meiklejohn, chef of Yearbook Taco. Meiklejohn’s picks:
1) Spicy Beef Tongue, Tendon and Tripe at Peter Chang’s China Grill. “I dream of this dish. Those nasty bits are cooked perfectly. It’s served cold with chiles, cilantro and peanuts. All I need is this dish and steamed rice – offal nirvana.”
2) Chicken and Waffles at Ace Biscuit and Barbecue. “It’s a toss up between the fried chicken and waffles and the Tommy Pastrami. Everything at Ace is made from scratch and you can tell. Brian Ashworth really knows his stuff. This is my family’s favorite place for breakfast.”
3) Tongue, Tendon and Tripe Pho at Pad Thai. “Starting to see a trend? Mr. Ouypron puts together the perfect bowl here. All the flavors are in harmony – spicy, sweet, salty and sour. I can’t get enough of this, and it’s better than grandma’s chicken soup if you are sick.”
4) Fried Chicken at Wayside Takeout. “I mean come on, it’s old school fried chicken with all the traditional fixin’s. And they serve fried livers, hearts and gizzards too? It reminds me of eating fried chicken at my grandma’s house.”
5) Pork Belly Rice Bowl at Zzaam Korean Grill. “Pork belly cooked to quivering, fatty perfection over steamed rice with a fried egg, kim-chee, house pickled veggies, seaweed and Korean Taco sauce. When I took my then 3 year old daughter here for the first time, the first bite she took made her get up and dance. This is the food that makes her booty groove.”